Early School (Ages 3-6)

EARLY SCHOOL ADMISSIONS POLICY

Since its beginning, Carolina Friends School (CFS) has sought to build and maintain a student body fully representative of the surrounding community.  We actively seek young people diverse in race, nationality, creed, family structure, physical ability, and socio-economic background.  In doing so, we continue to seek students from families whose values are in harmony with Quaker philosophy and with the educational goals of the School, and we consider the student’s potential to benefit from and contribute to the School.  Admissions decisions are made by the Admissions Committee, which includes the unit Head Teacher and the Admissions Coordinator.  The Principal may review decisions to ensure that they comport with School policy, which is developed by the CFS Board of Trustees.

PRACTICES REGARDING ADMISSIONS

Families who hope to enroll their children in one of the three Early Schools of Carolina Friends School should apply through the Admissions Office on main campus. To be considered for admission, a student would need to be 3 years old prior to September 1 of the academic year during which they would enroll at CFS.

For first consideration, applications for fall should be submitted between September 1 and January 4 of the preceding academic year – the earlier the better.  In coordination with other local schools affiliated with the Triangle Independent School Consortium, we will notify families applying to our Early Schools on February 20, so it is important to complete the admissions process – including written application, main campus tour, and observation/interview at an Early School – before February 6. If a family waits until January 4 to submit an application without having taken a tour, it may not be possible to arrange for both a campus tour and observational visit at one of the Early Schools before February 6.

We also welcome applications after January 4 and will consider all applications when spaces arise.

The Admissions Committee is responsible for admissions decisions in each unit.  The complete application process typically includes the following steps: 

• A parent tour of CFS main campus, designed to orient parents to the overall program of the School.  To arrange a tour, parents can contact the Admissions Secretary on the main campus (383-6602 x 221).  The tour is for parents only and can occur before or after the written application is completed.

• Submission of a completed application and non-refundable $50 application fee.

• An observational visit at the Early School designated as the family’s first choice, including an interview between parents or guardians and that Early School’s Head Teacher.  After sending an application, a parent should call the Admissions Secretary in the main office to schedule this visit as soon as possible.  Only students whose parents have interviewed will be offered admission to CFS. 

CFS has three Early Schools.  Parents designate a first-choice Early School and have their observation and interview there.  If an opening occurs at another Early School, parents may be invited to visit the other site.  When enrolling a student at Campus, Durham, or Chapel Hill Early School, it is understood that the student will remain at that particular Early School for as long as their parents wish them to be enrolled in the CFS Early School program.  It is not School policy to consider transfer from one Early School to another. 
           
Families with complete applications are notified about admissions decisions on February 20.  Students are accepted, placed in the waiting pool, or denied admission to the School. Signed contracts for newly accepted students are due within ten days. When later spaces open up, the Admissions Committee looks to the current waiting pool, which then includes applications received after January 4. CFS reserves the right to accept a late applicant who fulfills admissions criteria, in accordance with the goals of the School.

Because the Early Schools are small, admissions decisions can be challenging, especially since we need to take into account the age and gender of each child, as well as the departure time sought by each family. Therefore, it is common for families to be accepted after the first round of admissions, or to be wait-listed when a child is three and admitted when the child is older. The more flexible a family can be relative to year of entry, location, and departure time, the more likely their child will be admitted to the School.

Decisions regarding admissions are made independently of consideration regarding families’ abilities to pay the full cost of enrollment at the School, and Early School families are eligible to receive need-based tuition assistance from Carolina Friends School. Families should apply for tuition aid when applying for admission to the School, by going to the website for Tuition Aid / Data Services (TADS) (www.tuitionaid.com) or calling CFS to receive a paper application. Limited funds for tuition aid make it impossible to accommodate every family’s unique financial circumstances, and in years when demand far exceeds available funds, grants for 3- and 4-year-olds can be limited. We make every effort to notify a family about tuition aid at the time of admission or soon thereafter as possible.

In the fall, applicants who remain in the waiting pool are contacted about whether they wish their applications to be reactivated and considered for the subsequent year (without charge).  Families whose students are offered admission in the spring and who refuse the offer would need to re-apply (and pay another application fee) if they wished to be considered for the next year.

The Principal bears final responsibility for all admissions decisions.  Questions concerning such matters should be directed first to the Admissions Coordinator and then, if necessary, to the Principal’s office.  If you have questions about the status of your application, please feel free to call the Admissions Secretary or the Admissions Coordinator – not the Head Teacher – to request information.

Revised 10-08